India captain Rohit Sharma admitted that he has not done well with the bat in recent few outings in Test cricket. This came after the third BGT 2024 Test in Brisbane ended in a draw due to incessant rains.
The five-Test series is now level 1-1 with the next two Tests scheduled in Melbourne and Sydney.
Rohit Sharma praised the lower-order hitters' tenacity after his team salvaged a critical draw. He stated that it has given the Indian team newfound confidence for the rest of the series. With the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy poised at 1-1, Rohit believes the team's morale would be good for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
"I mean, we will take that. Obviously to have interruptions like that wasn't great, but going to Melbourne at 1-1 pretty much gives us that confidence to go out there and pull things towards us. The situation we were in just after lunch (on Day 4), needed someone to stand up and take us through, we knew with the weather, we knew it wasn't going to be a full game,” Rohit was quoted as saying by PTI.
"The situation we were in just after lunch (on Day 4), needed someone to stand up and take us through, we knew with the weather, we knew it wasn't going to be a full game,” he added.
Opener KL Rahul once again shined, scoring 84 before Ravindra Jadeja (77) provided lower-order resistance.
The final duo of Akash Deep (31) and Jasprit Bumrah (10 not out) put on a gutsy 47-run partnership to enable India to avoid follow-on before being all out for 260 in response to Australia's massive first innings tally of 445.
"Credit to (Ravindra) Jadeja, the way he played, and (KL) Rahul, the way he played was magnificent at the top of the order, the fight that Akash Deep and Bumrah (gave) was great to watch, we have seen them work so hard at the nets (on their batting),” he said.
Moreover, the Indian captain admitted that he was not at his best with the bat. He said: “I have not batted well. There's no harm in accepting that. But I know what's in my mind, how I'm preparing myself. All those boxes are very much ticked. It's just about spending as much time as possible, which I'm pretty sure I'm just there,”
“As long as my mind, my body, my feet are moving well, I'm pretty happy with how things are panning out for me. Sometimes those numbers can tell you that it's been a while since he's got big runs. But for a person like me, it's all about how I feel in my mind, what kind of prep I'm having before each game, and how I'm feeling about myself. That's the most important thing. And I'm feeling good about myself, to be honest. Runs are obviously not showing that, but inside it's a different feeling,” Rohit added.
Jasprit Bumrah added three more wickets to his first innings haul of 6/72. In the second Australian innings, Bumrah was particularly brilliant, taking 3/18, while Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj chipped in with two wickets each.
"Coming to the bowling, Bumrah was outstanding, Akash Deep is a feisty cricketer, who always wants to be involved in the game, very new to international cricket, he has worked hard at the nets, still new to international cricket, but he has put in the hard yards. There are people in the group to put their hands across and help him going forward. As he showed with the bat, these are the sort of characters we needed in the team," Rohit added.
The fourth Test of the BGT 2024 will begin at MCG, Melbourne on December 26.
(PTI inputs)
